There’s a new transit plan up for debate at city hall and this one has Toronto property owners footing the bill for a TTC expansion.

TTC Chair Karen Stintz is submitting a proposal to her council colleagues Wednesday that outlines an ambitious 30-year, $30-billion plan for 170-kilometres of new transit lines. Those lines include six new subway routes, 10 new LRT lines and five new bus and streetcar paths.

Her proposal, titled “OneCity Transit Plan,” would be supported through a 1.9 per cent property tax hike over four years. Under the plan, Toronto property owners would pay about $45 more in the first year, $90 more in the second year, $135 more in the third year and $180 more in the fourth year and beyond.

"If we are asking people to pay, they need to know what they are buying into and that is what this plan is all about," Stintz said during a press conference held to unveil details of the plan Wednesday morning. “These are projects we believe we need to invest in and we want people to say ‘Yes, this is something I want to invest in.’”

In a letter to her council colleagues, Stintz explains that under current regulations, the city can only collect the same amount of property taxes every year because of provincial revenue-neutral requirements.

Under the “OneCity Transit Plan” a dedicated fund would be set up that would be separate from the city’s annual budget process.

“Some people feel very strongly about no taxes, which I understand, so we have to convince the public that there is value here,” Stintz told CP24 in an interview with Stephen LeDrew Wednesday afternoon. “It is not just a tax; it is an investment in our future city and once people realize that this plan will benefit everyone, I think they will be willing to pay in.”

The first step of the plan is to replace the Scarborough RT with a subway extension from Kennedy Station to Scarborough Town Centre and then to Sheppard Avenue, Stintz said.

Next, the plan will focus on building transportation to support the waterfront and the anticipated 2015 Pan-Am Games.

Twenty other projects named in the plan would be prioritized by council at a later date, Stintz added.

Those projects include:

  • Building a Don Mills Express line from Queen Station to Eglinton to alleviate the current pressures on the Yonge/Bloor subway line
  • Upgrading the Bloor-Yonge subway station
  • Extending the Yonge subway to Steeles Ave.
  • Extending the Sheppard East LRT line to Malvern
  • Extending the Eglinton Crosstown LRT line to Pearson Airport

In an interview with CP24 Wednesday morning TTC vice-chair Glenn De Baeremaeker said the entire plan took about a month to come up with and would represent good value for taxpayers.

“Every line has been talked about over the last 30 years at one time or another and all Coun. Stintz and I did was take all of these ideas and put them into one comprehensive plan and figure out a way to pay for it,” he said. “For an $180 tax increase you get $30 billion in new transit and that’s something we think people will support.”

Some councillors oppose plan

While many councillors attending Wednesday’s news conference said they were interested in hearing more about Stintz’s plan, Coun. Doug Ford told CP24 that he isn’t one of them.

“I will stand firm on not moving forward on this and not increasing taxes on working families and businesses,” Ford said. “This shouldn’t be called OneCity; it should be called Tax City.”

Ford, who has been a staunch opponent of raising municipal taxes in the past, said that the city should be looking to the private sector to fund transit improvements and not its own citizens.

He added that Stintz’s plan would inevitably run over budget, much like a new streetcar line along St. Clair has, costing taxpayers billions more.

“Folks, if you want a St. Clair disaster all over this city I encourage you to support this plan,” he said. “If you want lower taxes and you want subways I encourage you to support the mayor’s plan.”

Coun. Shelley Carroll said she is not against taking a closer look at Stintz’s plan, but admitted she has concerns.

“It is a great working document and I like the map, but I have a little problem with the math,” she told CP24. “This is not without pain and there are other things being discussed regionally such as a dedicated regional sales tax.”

The plan is expected to go before council in July.